Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-08-26

few months in the year produce
much finer chickens than later
ones. Eggs Matched in August or
September are worthless, the chickens
alw ays being poor and stunted. When
setting hen the best results will be
produced by setting her in the darkest
and dampest corner of an clubhouse
on the ground. She must then be
lifted oil her nest every day and
placed under a coop to feed for half an
hour, and the eggs sprinkled with
tepid water before the hen is allowed
to return to them. Under such cir
cumstances she will bring off the
whole brood, or at least sixteen out of
seventeen. To prevent disappoint-
ment it is useful practice to test the
eggs. Supposing that, in the case of
hens, you set half dozen the same
day. When they have set two days
you can test all the eggs, reject any
bad ones, make the six settings
into five and reset the sixth
on some fresh eggs. Testing is
easily accomplished as follows: Take
piece of cardboard, exclude all light
from the setting-house except the can
die, or better still, a rehector-lamp.
Take the eggs one by one and hold
them sideways against the hole in the
card then hold them up to the candle
or lamp, so that the card is between
the light and the egg. 1t will be seen
then, in the case OF fresh egg which |
has not been sat on, that the egg is |
semi-transparent, but when the egg
has been sat upon for two days, an |
opaque body will be observed floating |
about in it. This will be more readily |
seen if the egg is gently revolved
while thus held up. This dark body |
means that the egg has been germin-
ated and is a good one. But If the |
egg remains clear after two days it is |
not a fruitful one and will not hatch.
The matter can be made quite GER
tainty by the third day.
NEW AND OLD WINES.
We are sorry that the wine-makers
of the upper Napa valley have deemed
it advisable to sell any wines this |
year at prices that have prevailed.
We believe it would have been far
better for them had they held their
wine over the coming vintage and
sold the next crop of grapes, even if
prices are low. Next year wine made
in 1886 will bring very fair price,
but the wine made this year will sell
in 1888 probably about as wines have
lately been selling. We believe
that henceforth wines eighteen
months or two years old will
sell at prices more remunerative
(interest and extra work considered) |
than wine that is only eight or ten
months old. Two-year-old wine has
seldom been obtainable in California |
except at comparatively high figures
but hereafter it will be for sale at |
lower prices; and if wine-drinkers
will not prefer it to new wine we are
much mistaken. The time is not far
distant when wine will not go into the
general market without having been
stored couple of years, The
demand for it, and the increase of
price over new wine, will make aging
of the beverage almost necessity
independent Calistogan.
CULTURE OF THE FIG.
Considerable attention has been
called heretofore to the cultivation of
the Smyrna fig in this section, and
from all experiments in this line the
fruit is well adapted to the climate and
the fruit yields handsomely. J. p.
Onstott, few miles from Yuba City,
has been testing the qualities of this
fruit and finds that it is profitable, and
in some respects more so than any
other variety. From an acre and a
half OF fig trees he will obtain from
eight to ten tons, being now
about half through picking,
which after sorting, will be
shipped to firm in San
Jose, where they will 60 through sew
eral preparations OF steaming, drying
and crytallizing and will then be ready
for the retail market. They will then
sell as high as 40 cents per pound,
which must give good price to the
producer. The tree is hardy and
needs very little cultivation of the
soil. in comparison to other orchard
trees, and is very little effected by
the numerous pests. This would be
a growing as well as paying industry
to any of the orchardists in this local
ity and fig orchard would be a pro-
fitable addition to the many acres of
peach, apple, pear trees, ETC., that
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